Week #44 It is great to be busy!

Wow wow wow! So much has happened. This week was full and so busy!

Monday we worked hard all day. We didn't take a p-day because we wanted to go to the temple Wednesday. We taught 8 lessons in one day, it was awesome. We just went from one lesson to another and I know we were walking with the spirit because everyone accepted us! Nobody rejected us which is not characteristic of this area. Last week we went hours with out finding lessons, and this Monday it was just lesson after lesson, exactly what every missionary hopes for

Tuesday I gave a capacitacion on Albedrio in our Zone meeting. I didn't have much time to prepare but it turned out really well. Again on Tuesday,l I know that we were walking with the spirit because we taught lots of lessons and we found more new people to teach. We had a correlation meeting with our mission leader. Our mission leader is super cool. Hes 19 speaks fluent English, sings and his dream is to go to the united states and study at BYU. Hermana Goulding and I are really good friends with him. He has a hard life and is very inspirational to us, we are trying to do what we can to help him.  

Wednesday we prepared to go to the temple! We were so excited. We both woke up super tranquilo and we prepared to go. We left at 10 so that we could get back in time to work but nothing ever goes according to plan. We were about an hour into our trip to la molina when the Land Lord called us  frantic because she was locked out of the house. We had shut the door when we left and she didnt have her key. She was really concerned because her sick mother was inside with out anyone to help her. The only solution was that we needed to come back to open the door for her. So we jumped out of the combi and made the hour long trip back and then another hour back to La Molina.  Finally we made it to the temple and it was a great experience. I love the complete peace and happiness I feel there. For those little moments that we get to spend in the temple I know that no other worldly thing matters. As long as I am good with God nothing else matters. So often we forget that eternal perspective when we are out in the world but the temple is the best place to remember. 

Thursday we had a multi zone confernece. These conferences are so long. From 8 in the mornong until 4 in the afternoon. The president and his wife came with his assistants and they talked a lot about the importance of repentance. His talk was amazing. He spoke about the plan of God and the plan of Satan and how God is just and merciful. The whole point of his talk was that God cant save us from our sins if we don't repent from them. He has provided the way for us to be saved we just need to follow it. He cant save us IN our sins but can save us FROM our sins. He stressed the importance of focusing more on repentance to make sure that all of our investigatores are truly repenting of their sins.

Friday we had the wedding! WAHOO!!!! We got up early to help C get ready. The wedding was a matrimonio massivo which meeans that many  couples get married at one time. The marriage was held in the District offices so the district office was all decked out in balloons and flowers. Planning a wedding in Peru is about a million times harder than in the united states I think that is why no one is married here. There are so many prerequisits and papers that we had to get all worked out. It was really stresfull but we got everything done and were good to go for Friday. C, D and C were they cutest family ever! I was so happy to be able to help them with their wedding. They signed the papers and everything is official. There were about 15 to 20 other couples who were also there and so many missionaries. Later in the evening we had a reception. We wanted it to start at 7 so we could be there but in Peru time 7 means 9. Everything starts late, But tha'ts okay we were able to share a couple words before we left and we got to watch the couples dance!

Saturday we found a new family who I feel is prepared for the gospel! This family is awesome Walter his wife Maria )who are already married thank goodness= and their two sons Johan )16= and Walter )14  We taught the restoration and they accepted it very well. I am really excited to go back next Wednesday to teach them again! 

Sunday we had ward conference and the baptism. The baptism was suppose to start at 4 but it really started  at 5:30, punctuality is just not that important here. The baptism was so beautiful. There were so many members there to support C and D. The messages and testimonies were beautiful. Hna Goulding and I did a special musical number and everything worked out really well. We gave time to C and D to share their testimonies, they talked about being and eternal family and how they want to go to the temple to be sealed together and how happy they were to be baptized into the church.This is the first baptism in almost a year in the ward! The bishop was very grateful. After the baptism hermana Goulding and I were basically dead. This week was so busy. We taught one more lesson that night and then headed home to get some rest. I have never slept better in my whole  mission. 

I wish that I was able to give more details and explain better but the time doesn't allow me. I Love you all and hope everything is going well in the states!

See you next summer!

Hermana Huish

Week #43 The Book of Mormon changes lives!

Birthday breakfast for Hna. Ramirez

Working lunch with the Elders

This week has gone by really quickly for me. We are working with a young couple C and D. They are getting married in the massivo this Friday, and I am extremely happy for them. C has been really strong and has a really strong desire to follow Jesus. I can tell that she is ready to be baptized, she follows through with all of her commitments and is becoming a member of the ward. It has been a little more difficult with D, but we are working hard to strengthen his faith through revelation, though the scriptures and through assitencia. He is a husband, a father and is always worrying about providing for his family. He has a hard time leaving work to come to church because he wants to for his family. We are working to increase his faith and teach him that if he puts his confidence in God, God will provide everything else.

We had a very great spiritual experience this week. I is the wife of a menos activo. She has been really prepared for us. She is always working and her schedule is crazy but she shared with us that the Book of Mormon is changing her life. She said she feels more peace, and like she is learning a lot as she reads. She also can feel that her personality is changing. She is a witness to the power that the Book of Mormon has to change lives. We helped her initiate the habits of family prayer and family scripture studies. I have strong faith that we are going to reactivate her husband and that she will be baptized.

I have noticed that unfortunately, in this area the people are very hard hearted. We have had a lot of rejection this week. More rejection in this one week then in my entire mission. At first I was really confused and thought that it was my fault, that I wasn't a faithful enough missionary, but I think what I learned is that I am doing my part and every one has the ability to accept or reject. I have noticed that some people get really focused on things that are not important. We have had several lessons this week in which our investigatores ask us questions that are not reaalted to the gospel basics or that do not have answers. When we are talking about these things I can literally feel the spirit leave the conversation. Its so important to stay focused on the lessons and the doctrine of Christ and nothing else, so that we can teach with the spirit.

It is a short post this week because we have been so busy. Busy is a good thing in the mission!
Have a great week everyone and see you next summer,
Hna. Huish

Week #42 Santa Isabel

Transfer Day

Saying goodbye to my old comp. Sister Frye

Zona Magnolias is #1

                                                          Goodbye to Magnolias

                     My new Comp. Hna. Goulding and Elder Rodriguez and Elder Sitton




Dear Family,

The rumors were true. I am now in Santa Isabel. It is a lot different here and so much has changed. My new companion dun dun dun! Is another GRINGA! I think president doesnt ever want me to become fluent in spanish because this is my third gringa companion! Just to have one is pretty rare, and now I have had three. Hna Goulding is from northern california and she studied at BYU provo before her mission. We acutally lived together at one point when I was serving in magnolias so we know each other really well. This is also her last transfer in the mission before she goes home. Thank goodness she is still willing to work hard. Our area is tiny!! In fact, its about 8x smaller then my last area!  Our room is so nice we actually have a kitchen and lots of space. It feels good to not  be crammed into a 10x10 little box like my last room. Along with a tiny area comes a tiny ward. We have about 90 people coming to sacrament meeting and many of those are less actives.  I know that while I am here I really need to focus on strengthening the ward, the members, and helping the bishop.  I am excited for the chance to use some leadership skills and really make a difference. I can see a lot of potential but also a lot of work that needs to be done. 

We have some wonderful people that we are working with! Currently, we are teaching a family C D and their little son C. They are THE BEST! They truly were prepared for the gospel, golden invesigators. We have had lessons with them almost every night this week. We had a family night with them yesterday and I just don't have words to describe how awesome they are. They are totally motivated to come to church, to learn more, and to do what is right. They are not married yet so  this week we are focusing on obtaining all the requirment papers for their wedding. They tried to inscribe last Friday but it didn't work out. Their wedding date is the 21 and then their baptism date is the 22! wahoo its awesome!! And something even cooler is that the elders in our ward elder sitton and elder rodriguez also have a family that are being married the same day and the baptism despues. So we have been working a lot together.  This will be an exciting month. Although the area is really small,  I do have faith in this area and that we can help it grow. I am excited to be here and will try to make a difference.

So this is my little update this week.

Love you all and see you next summer!

Hermana Huish

Week #41 They do celebrate Halloween in Peru!